Tall garden swing

Yorky

Does anyone know where to get a tall wooden garden swing, say 8 -10 ft tall?

RAPUNZEL

Yorky wrote: »

Does anyone know where to get a tall wooden garden swing, say 8 -10 ft tall?

NO! Prehaps you should make one

Yorky

Thank you so much for that useful reply.

Mahatma coat

Yeah but thisw is the woodCRAFT forum, have you considered makin one,

they're reasonably simple

Yorky

Yes, I would have a go but would need a detailed plan to follow.

Could anyone provide a plan or a website link to follow?

misschipp

Hi Yorky,
You could try www.plansnow.com
They offer some free plans and you can download others for a small fee.
Hope this helps!
Jac

Yorky

Thanks for that but what I really want is a basic,sturdy tall swing made from poles or square timber. Nothing fancy but reasonably tidy.

galwaydude18

where are you based? I could make this for you

Yorky

Thanks for the offer. I'm in the North East but,as your name suggests, Galway is a bit far to travel from.

galwaydude18

well if you wanted I could make it and meet you half way if you wanted to collect it and install it yourself?

Qwerty?

Smyths do a decent wooden one for €150. We got the one with the built in slide 2 years ago for €300. It's very good quality.

http://www.smyths.ie/Marco-Wooden-Playcentre-!F00679-prod.aspx?qwSessionID=2cca157f-d494-4682-a749-5f67a45f0838

or

http://www.smyths.ie/Fargo-Wooden-Playcentre-!F00678-prod.aspx?qwSessionID=299bdb8b-cb38-4804-92cd-677b7360bd0c

or you could try http://www.woodford.ie/product_children_01.html

Yorky

I'm getting one of these made up for children and adults and just want to check the proportions etc. The proposed dimensions are:

Two parallel poles or square timber 10ft (3m) above ground level set 5ft (1.5m) apart
Swing seat height 26" (66cm)
Swing seat 20" (51cm) x 8" (20cm)

Any comments / advice on the proportions would be appreciated and an approximate cost of materials and labour.

k123456

Clonee Sawmills do excellent ones

ennisa

where abouts are they in clonee? I never even knew there was one there and it is just around the corner from work. Do they sell timber (hardwood/softwood) to the public?

Actually i just found there website and i realise i had seen them before. It doesn't look like they are actually a sawmill.

Yorky

This is the end result but I can't help thinking 'is it safe?'

http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff250/Kilnadrain/P1060337.jpg
http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff250/Kilnadrain/P1060336.jpg
http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff250/Kilnadrain/P1060335.jpg
http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff250/Kilnadrain/P1060334.jpg

The posts have metal reinforcement rods stapled to them and are submerged in concrete.

The tops of the vertical poles are dished and the horizontal top pole is attached via three screws each: two 240mm long and one 270mm long.

There is visible movement in the poles when the swings are in use and you can really feel the movement when on them. The poles are securely concreted in and the movement is above-ground only.

My concerns are:

1) Could the momentum of swinging cause the top pole to detach despite the screw fixings.

2) Will the poles eventually work themselves loose in the concrete?

Thanks for any advice in advance.

centre half

Yorky, don't go on a woodcraft forum looking for advice, then take none(including an offer to build one for you). And don't get on that contraption either if you value your life

Yorky

centre half wrote: »

Yorky, don't go on a woodcraft forum looking for advice, then take none(including an offer to build one for you). And don't get on that contraption either if you value your life

I stated from the outset that I wanted one built and installed. What advice have I not taken?

How is the 'contraption' unsafe?

centre half

Only jokin mate, sounds like it should be safe enough, but I would be wary that the top might not be the safest. I would maybe join it at the top with bare faced tenons and then bolt the two of them together, just to be sure!

centre half

That would maybe be the best job, easy enough to do, cheap, safe and practical.

Yorky

Have now put metal strapping over the top pole and I'm getting struts put either side of the uprights.

Can anyone give me a definitive answer as to what height the struts should be and how far out from the uprights? Really need to know this so can finally rectify this problem.

Yorky

The struts are being fitted as we speak. Going off an older A frame swing which has equal leg width as frame height, my swing leg length is 2.7m high so I'm putting the struts in at the same width - 1.35m out each side of the vertical pole.

The struts are going to be bedded in concrete.

aerosol

Hi Yorky,if you can, creosote and wrap the section of your posts to be incased in the concrete with a damproof membrane of some sort,it'll prolong the life of the posts.Wood doesn't like concrete!:)

Yorky

Thanks for the replies. I asked for the top of the posts to be sealed with the bitumen-based paint also as they are 'dished' and therefore a water trap. I noticed the other day that the top of one of them had only been coated in spray paint rather than the bitumen paint.

Will this have the same sealing effect as trowel mastic?

jamesy08

Hi,im prob too far from you also,i actually design and built swingsets to customers specifications,i could easily have designed this for you,i already have special brackets made up for the top beam,and i then use 4x4 trated square posts,cut them to whatever length,this gives me the height requested
see www.adventureworldswingsets.com
jamesy